Nov. 23, 2018
07:07 am JST

Nov. 23, 2018
07:24 am JST

These polls are so very very annoying. Most Japanese don’t want to tell a stranger about their sex life or dating habits. They make tv shows about this sort of silliness because people can laugh at the absurdity of it.

If someone walked up to you on the street and started asking you questions about your underwear would you stand there and answer truthfully or lie?

Nov. 23, 2018
07:26 am JST

Does seem odd for those of us who've been here for a while. So many activities here sort out by gender early on, so many schools that aren't coed, so many young people who spend virtually every waking moment memorizing stuff for exams. I know a woman who hasn't traveled for more than a year to dedicate herself entirely to her daughter's upcoming center test. Naturally the daughter herself has no life beyond HS and juku--7 days a week, including national holidays. Where would the time be for dating fit in let alone what we might call life itself?

I was going to dances in JHS. I was driving dates around in my car at 16. Japanese kids get a much later start. For college kids (on a 4 year vacation until work begins) I suspect old habits are hard to break suddenly when they arrive on campus at 18. I teach them and they seem far less mature than their western peers. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. I hope my daughter isn't smoking herbs or binge drinking when she's a teenager like her dad. But I'm also determined that she has the time and space to pursue her own interests.

All that said, I suspect such numbers are down at home as well. Just read this by a psychology professor from San Diego State University, Jean Twenge:

"Children are growing up more slowly. By the age of 18, they are less likely to have a driver's licence, to work in a paying job, to go out on dates, to drink alcohol or to go out without their parents compared to teens in previous generations, " professor told AFP.

Nov. 23, 2018
07:56 am JST

Nov. 23, 2018
08:08 am JST

Japanese adults have found that cramming and swotting for exams is much more effective than education and condoms for controlling the sexual activity of young people. The era of sex, drugs and rock'n roll still lies in the future for the Japanese. Meanwhile, the birth-rate continues to decline and immigrants will have to take up the slack to keep Japan Inc. a viable entity.

Nov. 23, 2018
10:17 am JST

Nov. 23, 2018
10:37 am JST

Some of you think this is an odd survey, but in a country where people are increasingly deciding against having a relationship, or finding themselves without the opportunity or means to have a relationship, which in turn is partly leading to a declining birthrate, and declining population, this survey is not strange at all.

Nov. 23, 2018
12:22 pm JST

I wouldn't be surprised if the methods used in these surveys are flawed, but I still think this is a topic worthy of study. It is already common for groups of young people to go a restaurant and sit there looking at a phone without engaging with each other. I think it is important to know the effects tech and commercial use of tech are having on society. Since we are talking young people, schools also have to adapt, warning kids about online grooming, revenge porn, online bullying, etc.

Nov. 23, 2018
12:28 pm JST

Nov. 23, 2018
01:30 pm JST

A dating survey carried out by a sex education body? That does not sound like a good foundation for a survey.

Much of whatever sex that goes on does not necessarily happen through 'dating'. Besides, arranging to meet, and going steady, are quite different things. Perhaps the oddity lies in the translation of 付き合い Tsukiai?

Nov. 24, 2018
05:00 am JST

Nov. 24, 2018
05:17 am JST

Never fear. Someone will read this survey, and will decide to start a dating education center. People will practice dating dialogs and computer-based dating scenarios. Exams will be given, followed by a certificate of dating excellence. This training will guarantee success with this difficult custom. Graduates will date, get married, have many babies, and before long, there will be overpopulation, a lack of housing and insufficient infrastructure.

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